pasta

Yesterday I felt like pasta.  I bought a big bag of sweet basil and some pine nuts and couldn't wait to taste the pesto I'd make with them.  This time I made a little variation on the typical pesto pasta and I thought it was sublime!  Once I mixed it together at the end my mouth was watering and I couldn't wait to take my first bite.

Here are some rough measurements of the ingredients I used.  I didn't measure but just went with what felt right:)

Creamy Pesto Pasta

Pesto:

I huge handful basil (about a cup)

1/2-3/4 cup pine nuts

a big glug of extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup?

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Blend together until a it looks like pesto:)

Cream sauce:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
a pinch of seasoning salt (I use Herbamare)

Before I start this dish I cut the top off two whole garlic heads and place them on aluminum foil then I drizzle the tops with olive oil, wrap it up and put it in the oven to bake at 350 degrees (about 1/2 hour or so until the garlic looks roasted and lovely.  A little after you put the garlic in, slice in half a carton of cherry tomatoes (not the carton, the tomatoes:) pop them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven as well.

Put on a big pot of water and bring to a boil for the pasta (whatever kind you like, I did spaghettini) Cook pasta to perfection and drain.

Stir butter until it melts, add cream. Stir slowly on med heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add parmesan cheese (If this is what I was using as a sauce all on its own I would put thinly sliced garlic cloves in it as well).

Once the sauce is done add in the pesto and stir just enough to mix together you don't want to cook the pesto:)  Add in the roasted garlic!

Mix pasta and sauce in your favorite serving bowl and top with roasted tomatoes. Next time I might add some whole pine nuts as well as some cashews.  Maybe some thinly sliced sauteed yellow peppers wouldn't hurt either:)
Eat to your hearts' content!  I know I did:)

pinning

I love Pinterest!  It is so fun to find and pin my favorite things on the web.  I thought I'd show you some things from one of my boards. Happy pinning!

garden party

three flowers

couple snuggling

print with quote

mother and child

oh to be a woman



theater

My mom got Neka and me tickets to Shen Yun at the Queen Elizabeth theater. Shen Yun 
I made it a special day from beginning to end.  We had an asian noodle soup with veggies and tofu for lunch and then it was time to go!  After a yummy snack on the drive we were there. 
Neka was jumping up and down she was so excited!  With her asian doll in hand we climbed the stairs to out seats.  Soon the lights went down and with Neka perched on my lap it began.  Her favorite dances were Lotus Leaves, Flower Fairies, and Snowflakes Welcoming Spring, these dances were filled with lots of pink flowing silk and billowing fog making the stage appear magical.  During the performance she alternated between sitting on my lap and her own seat.  At one point she leaned over and said "did you see that move mommy, wasn't it beautiful?" 
Afterwards, she ater her apple chips and promptly fell asleep.  I know that she felt special to have spent the day with mommy doing something just with her. 

pruning

Friday morning dawned clear and sunny, I felt something was different about this day. When I opened the door I knew what it was, it was warm. Yay! I was craving to go outside into the backyard and do some work.  I had been eyeing up the pear tree for a few months and knew that if it wasn't pruned soon the buds would all be out.  I got the clippers and started with the lowest branches. 
The girls were happy to put on gumboots and dig in the dirt.  When I couldn't reach any more twigs I looked at the tall ladder leaning against the house.  I really wanted to do more and yet that seemed a bit much.  I thought hmmm... this is something Tey should be doing not because it's a man's job but because it was too big and heavy for me.  But something in me wanted to be the one to prune this tree so I lugged the ladder over to the tree and set it up awkwardly.  After starting to reach and few limbs higher up I grew bolder and soon I was at the top of the ladder feeling like I was in charge. 
Part of me resisted this work and the other felt a sense of pride that I was caring for this tree.  The first summer we lived here I canned sixty jars of pear sauce.  The next summer I had Nora and the number went way down, maybe a dozen or so.  This summer I had some plans for me and this tree and I wanted to really own it.  Maybe it sounds weird but I felt I had something to prove. Having wanted a yard for my kids for so long I felt like I had to make every part of it count.  
Since moving here I have been envisioning what I want the garden to look like and so far I am seeing large beams making arbours with wild flowers peppering every square inch that isn't grass.  I have plans to build (with the help of my husband and brothers:) a play house for the girls by June 1st (it's in my goals:) This summer I want to "live" in the back yard.  I'm not going to plant as many vegetables, just my favourites, green beans and cherry tomatoes for the girls, maybe some lettuce planters on the deck. 
I had gotten to the point with the pear tree that I needed to step off the ladder and climb into the middle of the tree to get to the top.  This strangely wasn't as comfortable as I thought it might be, I had climbed many trees as a kid but now I was so conscious of falling that I second guessed each step, it was very frustrating not be feel sure of myself. 
Slowly I could start to see the end of my task and by dusk it was done.  My hands were covered with scratches and I had dropped the clippers on my foot, it was cut and a bruise was forming but as I stood back and surveyed my bare tree I felt good, really good.  It was a challenge I had risen to and conquered! It was good day!

inspiration

One summer I worked with a guy named Shawn Slavin at a small summer camp at Cultus Lake.  Recently I heard him speak on TED Talks.  I am super proud to call him my friend and what he had to say inspired me to pursue my dreams with a vengence!

Shawn Slavin, TED Talks

water birth

Nora is seven months old, she giggles and has the best belly laughs especially when her sisters play with her.  Lately I am feeling drawn to birthing stories.  This is quite normal for me as I have felt this after each of my girl's births.  Recently though, I have been feeling like my body is looking for its next purpose.  For over four years I have been either pregnant or nursing but now I feel a shift in what my mind and body is searching for.  Before, I began nesting when each baby was about seven months old thinking about maybe wanting to have another baby. Now I feel as though I am collecting precious moments to inspire others who are going into and through this time in their lives. I have truly loved being pregnant and having my three girls.

I was talking to a girlfriend the other day about how being pregnant felt like the most important job I've ever had.  I felt so wholly used up (in a good way) and also secretly special to have this work of making a little human.  There was a quiet smile each time I thought "I'm pregnant!"  I know that when other friends around me are becoming pregnant again I will have a little pang of wishing to feel all those things again but everyday I am discovering the joys that come with the new phases that my girls are going through.  I will have sweet memories of this crazy time:)

I wanted to show you the Birth of Leo Hart because it was one of my favorite when I was pregnant with Nala.  A tear runs down the father's face while his wife is labouring, seeing it, made me cry to see a man so actively feeling the power of the moment.

As I was looking at birthing videos I came across this short french film featuring a baby having a bath. Le Bath  I wanted to show both of these together because after the hard work of labour comes the pleasure of having these little ones in our lives.

I found this beautiful piece on Pinterest by Lisa Ferrante, Etsy

music

When I was seventeen I fell for a cute boy who asked me what music I liked.  I remember feeling unbelievably embarrassed by this question because I didn't know.  I had never thought about it and I didn't know any cool obscure bands to rattle off nonchanlantly, all I listened to was classical and praise music and that didn't sound cool to me.  I thought I must sound extremely boring not to have explored such an important area of my life. I remember buying a Joshua Tree tape because a guy I liked loved U2.  I think I thought that I had to like the same music as the person I was with. Years later I started finding artists that I liked and then I realized why the first guy had asked me the question.  Music can speak to your heart and make you feel on top of the world or transport to you places you've never been before. Just because I didn't have a good answer at seventeen didn't mean that I was boring it just meant I hadn't yet been exposed to music that moved me.

Over the years I've been become interested in music that tells stories and that makes me FEEL fantastic.  I love folk music and went through my Sarah Mclachlan, Jewel phase. Later I liked Coldplay, Jack Johnson and even Madonna, I know right,  it doesn't sound like me but I definitely grooved to her songs working at OQOQO. This is the "cool" thing I've discovered about music, it's all about how you feel. 
I found my first MOST favorite artist in my mid twenties Feist grabbed my heart and I fell in love.  In this last year I was introduced to two artists that I have to say, I would love to know personally.  Laura Marling has a hauntingly beautiful voice and lyrics that are intruiging.  Pamplamoose is fun and makes me want to dance while I cook or wash the dishes.  My experience with music is rich and delightful and most of all I know that right around the corner is my next MOST favorite artist.